Dutch farmers set fires and rail sabotage disrupts budget day

Dutch farmers lit fires alongside highways and saboteurs placed pipes on railway tracks across the Netherlands on Tuesday, disrupting travel as the government unveiled its budget plans for 2027.

Railway operator ProRail said pipes had been attached to tracks at more than 20 locations early in the day, mostly in rural parts of the country's middle and east. The company said the materials had clearly been placed deliberately and classified the incidents as sabotage. All trains near the blockages were halted, and services elsewhere faced serious disruption, including international routes to Germany. Several level crossings also had to stay closed, affecting road traffic.

Around midday, fires broke out in several places beside highways, forcing authorities to close roads and causing significant traffic problems. Activist group Farmers Defence Force said angry farmers had set hay bales and car tyres alight to mark government budget day.

"We feel like the country is on fire. Farmers feel as though their businesses are on fire because of the government's plans," spokesperson Sieta van Keimpema said.

The group said it was not responsible for the railway sabotage but could not rule out that individual farmers had acted on their own. The Dutch intelligence agency AIVD said it was investigating the rail incidents with police and prosecutors, declining to comment further.

Later on Tuesday, King Willem-Alexander set out the government's budget plans as he opened a new parliamentary session. In a speech written by Prime Minister Rob Jetten, the king said it would be "irresponsible" not to address the nitrogen issue, even though the measures could hurt farmers. The government has promised financial compensation for farmers whose businesses would be affected by plans to restore nature reserves.

The budget proposals have triggered widespread protests in recent months, with farmers arguing they are being unfairly blamed for nitrogen pollution.